Monday, August 13, 2012

On July 17, 2012 I had the pleasure of visiting The Ronald Reagan Presidential Museum and Libraryin Simi Valley to enjoy the new Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives costume and prop exhibition, which opened in July and is planned to run until April 2013.

D23 Presents Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives

The exhibit is a veritable treasure trove of over 500 cinematic Disney goodies, some that have never been displayed before, including original artifacts, props, models, costumes, concept art, animation artwork and more. Here's just a sampling of the Disney memorabilia on display.

Storybook props from Disney's classic animated movies

These ornate storybook props were used in the opening sequences of three of Disney's most popular animated classics, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, 1950's Cinderella and 1959's Sleeping Beauty.

1915 Model T Touring car from The Absent-Minded Professor

Also on display was this vintage Model T Touring car which flew in the 1961 black-and-white Disney movie, The Absent-Minded Professor, starring Fred MacMurray as 'Professor Ned Brainard'.

Original props from Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Next up are props featured in 1971's musical fantasy Bedknobs and Broomsticks, which starred Angela Lansbury and mixed animation and live-action in the Mary Poppins tradition. These props which evoked many childhood memories, included the magician's display case used by David Tomlinson as 'Emelius Browne', a magic bed knob, a torn spell book and 'The Isle of Naboombu' linen storybook.

Original Belle gown worn by Toni Braxton

in Broadway's Beauty and the Beast

Along with all the props, there were also some magnificent costumes to see up close, including this beautiful yellow dress designed by Ann Hould-Ward and worn by Toni Braxton as 'Belle' in the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast from 1998.

Fairy Godmother costume worn by Whitney Houston

in ABC's Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

Here's an outfit worn by another famous actress-singer, Whitney Houston's Fairy Godmother costume from 1997's TV movie version of Cinderella, part of The Wonderful World of Disney series which starred Brandy as the titular heroine.

Walt Disney World's Hall of Presidents busts

Considering the venue and it being an election year and all, this array of Presidential busts used to create the audio-animatronic attraction at Walt Disney World's Liberty Square in Magic Kingdom made me smile.

As you can see there was a real eclectic mix of treasures on display from the worlds of the big screen, television, theme parks and Broadway, but stay tuned in the days to come for even more delights including: